


Check In Days

by Eissel



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Angst and Feels, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Gen Work, Hospitalization (mentioned), Light Angst, Parental Roy Mustang, Phone Calls & Telephones, alcohol (mentioned)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23041471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eissel/pseuds/Eissel
Summary: Everyone on Team Mustang knows that the Colonel gets antsy whenever they don’t check in for an extended amount of time.But he getsso much worsewhen it comes to the Elrics.
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Roy Mustang, Edward Elric & Roy Mustang, Edward Elric & Team Mustang, Roy Mustang & Team Mustang
Comments: 11
Kudos: 768





	Check In Days

**Author's Note:**

> Parental!Roy is my shit.

  
Roy liked to consider himself an unflappable person even in the worst of times. Of course, his team would say otherwise, citing times when Hawkeye had to start cocking her gun to drive him to complete his paperwork, but  _ generally  _ they grudgingly agreed that Roy could do stoic like no other commanding officer when he bothered to.

_ Except  _ when people didn’t check in. 

Then he tended towards panicking. 

The office still had burn marks on the ceiling from when Havoc had gone out on a solo mission and hadn’t checked in for two weeks straight. After that incident, they had all jointly agreed to call in to the office at least once every two days to assuage Mustang’s fears.

(Because it chafed them all to admit it, but those nightmares  _ had a point _ when it came to safety. Turns out Havoc hadn’t called because he’d been practically 2 steps away from dying in an ice pit in Drachma.)

But if Mustang was considered to be in “panic” mode when the grown  _ adult  _ members of his team didn’t check in on a regular basis, he got  _ so much worse  _ when the Elrics didn’t check in. 

He tried to deny it of course, but when Fuery found him pacing the halls at 0200 hours muttering something to himself about what “new kind of hell did those boys find themselves in”, no one bought his act. 

So Hughes had done them all a favor and pulled the boys aside to ask them to “for the safety of everyone is Eastern Command,  _ check in with the office. _ ”

* * *

The “Optain Incident”, as the office had collectively nicknamed it, had not  _ anything good  _ for the Colonel’s stress levels.

As this call was rapidly proving. 

“Fullmetal, I only require that you check in with me  _ because it’s military policy, _ you remember that contract you signed right? The one where you agreed to  _ follow orders  _ because you are now a  _ member of the military _ ?” 

“Colonel, I really don’t have time for this, look, I’m alive, there, that’s my check in. Now, I’ve got to get going.”

“ _ Fullmetal _ don’t you dare hang up-!” Roy sighed and put the receiver down on the table.

“Don’t get too worked up over it Colonel.” Fuery said, putting the receiver back in its proper place. “Ed just has a bit of a one track mind.”

“Just… Tune into any news reports in the Schwertberg area. Hopefully the runt doesn’t get himself killed in the meantime.”

“You sent him to investigate a report in the small mining town nearby, didn’t you?” Kain asked confused. “There shouldn’t be anything that could get him killed there.”

“Don’t underestimate Fullmetal’s capacity for trouble.” Mustang said tiredly, and grabbed his coat off of the rack. “I’m going out, tell Hawkeye I’ll be back in an hour.”

“To Schwertberg Sir?”

“To get a  _ drink. _ ”

* * *

“Hello Colonel!”

“Alphonse? It’s...” Roy checked the clock. “It’s 0500 hours. Why aren’t you-” He paused. “Right, my apologies. Why the late night call?”

“Well, tomorrow is supposed to be Brother’s check in day, and we were going to go out to a library, and you know how Brother is-”

“So you decided to call beforehand.” Roy smiled tiredly. “Thank you.” 

“Goodnight Colonel, see you in a week.” 

“Goodnight Alphonse.” The sharp click signalled the end of the call, and Roy allowed himself to collapse in his chair. The dim light from the hall only intensified the reminder that he’d been up since midnight waiting on a call from either brother to confirm that they were… if not  _ safe _ , then at the very least  _ whole.  _

It may have been hypocritical of him to be worried about their safety, he was the one to drag them (well,  _ one  _ of them officially) into the military, but he couldn’t help it.

They were just kids, no matter what they’d seen, and every time they stepped foot out of Eastern Command, Roy spent hours pacing up and down annoying the ever living hell out of his subordinates in the office until they sent him home. 

* * *

“Get up to Central Roy.” That was all Hughes had said before he hung up, and Roy was out of his mind with worry. He tried to recall what could put Hughes into such a state wherein he called Roy’s office and  _ didn’t ramble about Gracia or Elicia.  _

Well, of course, it could’ve been a matter concerning Maes himself, given the fact that Roy  _ swore  _ he heard sirens in the background. Maybe the other man was injuired and was going to need someone to inform Gracia or Elicia, but then he could just call them himself.

Maybe it Aunt Chris or one of his sisters, but he hadn’t heard anything that sounded like they were in trouble in  _ months _ , and the last time someone had tried to bust up his Aunt’s operation, they found themselves with 3rd degree burns. That should’ve deterred anyone from trying anything for  _ at least a year.  _

And then he remembered. Ed and Al. He poked his head outside of the small annex room he had claimed as a personal office.

“Riza, I’m going to need a train ticket to Central.”

“ _ A  _ ticket, Sir?” She looked up from her paperwork, ochre irises boring into him.

“Make it two.” He amended. “Men, you’re all free for the rest of the day.” He announced to Breda and Havoc, recognizing the unfairness of he and Riza getting to leave while the rest of his team (the ones that were present anyways) had to deal with paperwork. 

“Thanks Chief.” Havoc grinned around an unlit cigarette (if it had been lit, the Elrics would suddenly find themselves as no longer the only Easterners in Central City Hospital), and he swept a stack of papers to the side. “My date thanks you too.” He winked.

“Tell us how the Boss and Al are when you get up there.” Breda said, gruffness hiding the genuine concern. 

“I will.”

The train ride was nerve racking, and he wasn’t able to pace. 

So he resorted to fidgeting. Or at least he did, until Riza threatened to pistol whip him. 

So now he sat in silence, looking out the window and trying to keep the worst case scenarios out of his head. 

Then Riza put a hand over his, and her palm was clammy, and her skin was red, and Roy forced himself to relax. If he was already this bad, Riza was probably worse off, but just refused to show it, which was probably worse than his displays of nervousness. 

So he squeezed her hand lightly, but didn’t say a word.

* * *

When they got to the hospital, Roy forced himself to stay calm once more as the nurse ran through Ed’s injuries. 

“He’s right in here. We currently have him on morphine right now. So he’s asleep, and probably going to stay that way until at least 8. Do you still want to go in?”

“It’s probably better for my own health if I at least see him, so yes.” Roy said tiredly. Riza nodded beside him, and he squeezed her hand discreetly. 

When they entered, Roy sucked in a breath. “Ed...” The golden haired boy looked absolutely  _ tiny  _ in the hospital bed. He had an IV attached to his left arm, and he looked gaunt and malnourished. Just what the hell had happened on their last mission?

“Colonel? Lieutenant Hawkeye?” Al’s tinny voice came from behind them, and Roy turned around, relief flooding him when he didn’t see any major scratches or gouges in the armor. 

That relief quickly turned back into dread when he realized that Ed had probably taken the injuries for his brother. 

“Hello Alphonse.” Riza greeted warmly. “We got a call from Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. So we decided to come and see how you both were doing.” 

“Well, Brother got banged up a bit, but he should be fine in a little while.” Alphonse chuckled. “The real problem is when Winry finds out he broke his automail again!”

Roy felt numb. 

This was “banged up”? Ed in a hospital bed looking so  _ fucking small _ and  _ pale  _ was “banged up”? 

“I...” He ignored the shakiness in his voice. “I’m going to go get some air. Lieutenant, please inform me if Fullmetal wakes up.”

He couldn’t deal with this right now.

* * *

When Ed called, Roy was on high alert. 

“Hey Bastard.” While the greeting was normal, he didn’t dare let his guard down. “Just checking in, I still don’t get the purpose, but whatever, I’m following procedure now, are you happy?”

“I would prefer it if you didn’t pick and choose which regulations to follow, but this will do for now.” Roy replied smoothly. “How goes the mission Fullmetal?”

“I’m done, the report was another fake, but I stopped by the Second Lieutenant’s General Shop while coming back.”

Havoc’s family was all out East. Ed and Al were in the West. That was concerning. 

“Oh? How’d you find yourself out there? Last I checked  _ you  _ were supposed to be in Lotschental.”

“Ah, Havoc always brags about his mom’s stew, and he swore that it was the best he’d ever tried, but  _ I  _ know that Granny makes the best stew, so I hopped on a train there to try some.”

“I’m going to regret asking this, but Havoc is listening in right now, so… How was it?”

“Have you ever had those ancient dusty Eastern recipes? The ones before the unification, like the ones with the gelatin?”

“I’ve never had the displeasure.”

“Like that. Anyways, I’ve gotta go, my train’s about to leave.”

“Fullmetal, what  _ line?  _ The last time you said that your train was about to leave without any other identifying information you had half of Eastern Command rushing about trying to figure out where you disappeared to. Not like it’s that hard to make you disappear.” 

“I’m NOT short  _ Bastard! _ ”

“Never said you were, now  _ details  _ Fullmetal. For a genius you sure have no focus.”

“I’ll be taking the S3 line, stopping at Hugo Station for a transfer to the S5 line.” The last sentence was rushed, and then the call was disconnected. He tried to ignore the ice cold rush of fear that gripped him, Ed would be _fine,_ Al would be _fine,_ nevermind the fact that Ed hadn't mentioned his younger brother once in the call, or that they were both still trapped with _dangerous seperatists._ They'd be fine, because the Fullmetal Alchemist was a brash, hardheaded kid who took everything the world threw at him and stomped on it, and Alphonse Elric was a 7ft suit of pure fighting prowess. They would be fine.

“Well, you heard the kid. S3 line to Hugo, then he’s getting on S5. We need men at Hugo and at every stop along S5. We’ll radio if we catch up with them.” He said, pushing the fear down so that he could function.

“Instructions for the MPs Chief?” Havoc asked, checking his ammunition. 

“Stay on the outskirts, the rebels were apparently dumb enough to let Fullmetal call us, but not dumb enough to fail to recognize that giving out their train line would be stupid. I bet they cut the line. Falman, Fuery, you’re both on media duty.”

“Sir!” They chorused. Roy tugged on his gloves, and flexed his fingers. 

“We have Eastern rebels stirring up trouble, Drachmans agitating on the border, and there’s  _ still  _ protesting about Haukro’s cock-up out in New Optain. When we get back, drinks are on me.” He grumbled, and cheers went up. 

Mustang exited the office quickly. He had two trouble making alchemists to save.

* * *

Ed and Al were safe. They had managed to get themselves into a position to capture all the rebels themselves without much fuss. 

He wished his heart would calm down enough to  _ believe  _ that though.

* * *

“Hello? Is this Colonel Mustang’s office?” A girl? Probably the Rockbell mechanic then. 

“It’s not the office, but it  _ is  _ my personal phone.” He replied. “Are you Winry Rockbell?” He wondered why she was calling him. 

“Oh! Well, yes, I am. I’m just calling because Al said you wanted them to check in with you every week when they’re out of East City.”

“Well, thank you for calling, but why can’t they come to the phone?”

“They had already left.” 

“Oh, I see. Well, thank you Miss Rockbell.” He hung up the phone, and stared at the wall for a moment. 

Those kids were going to turn his hair prematurely grey.

* * *

He had just finished a guest lecture at Rockanje Academy, and had stopped inside a phone booth to call the office. 

When he picked up, it was Fullmetal. 

“Mustang?” Roy felt his blood go ice cold. The boy’s voice was quiet, and weak. “A-Are you there?” There was a stutter too. 

“I’m here Fullmetal, what do you need?” He was aware of the frantic tone his voice had gained, he just didn’t care. 

“I-It’s  _ Al _ , Scar g-” And then there was a scream, and the fizzling of an alchemical transmutation. 

“Fullmetal!” He yelled into the receiver, and was about to ask for his location when there was another fizzling sound, and the screaming stopped. 

That was normally where Roy woke up, but occasionally the nightmare would continue on because the screaming  _ didn’t  _ stop. 

* * *

Roy was never so relieved to hear the typical signs of the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother setting up shop in his office. 

“Fullmetal, do refrain from breaking up my office, or I’ll dock it from your pay.”

“Since when do you  _ pay  _ me? I’ve never seen so much a single cent from the government.”

“Because you  _ cause untold desctruction Fullmetal. _ ” Roy placed heavy emphasis on the “untold destruction” bit. He’d never seen another teenager so hell bent on destroying everything in their immediate vicinity. “And the only reason you’re not in debt is because Alphonse  _ helpfully  _ transmutes most of the things that need to be repaired back into their normal state  _ without  _ the awful style additions.”

“My style is  _ perfectly normal. _ ”

“Your style includes  _ skulls and gargoyles Brother. _ ” Alphonse protested. “ _ Everyone  _ complains about things you fix!”

“Not  _ everyone. _ ” Ed grumbled. 

“You ran around Central for days when you weer trying to buy Winry earrings because you knew she wouldn’t like the ones you transmuted for her.” Al deadpanned. 

“Anyways, here’s your report Bastard, got another mission for me?” 

“In fact, I do. Out in Cottessen there’s reports of a red stone that can make miracles.”

“This had better not be another dead end. Come on Al, let’s go.”

“Don’t forget to check in Fullmetal!”

“Ugh! That’s such a  _ stupid procedure! _ ”

“You were the one that signed a  _ binding military contract Fullmetal! _ ” The kid groaned. 

“ _ Fine.  _ I’ll check in, once a week and no more, okay Bastard?  _ Now  _ can we go?” Roy nodded, and Ed grabbed Al’s arm and ran off. 

He collapsed into his chair, and closed his eyes, exaughsted. 

He’d take all of it, all the taunts and jabs, and complaining. 

He’s take all the calls where Ed was flippant and brash, and Al was indignant and apologetic, he’d take a million short calls that were made only to satisfy the requirement. 

He could take all the other calls just so that he’d never  _ ever  _ have to listen to that one.


End file.
